Long March 2F/G | Shenzhou 24 — visibility, launch time & where to look
Shenzhou 24 will be the 24th flight of the Shenzhou program.
Launch time
- Dec 31, 2026, 12:00 AM UTC
- Dec 30, 2026, 7:00 PM Eastern
- Dec 30, 2026, 4:00 PM Pacific
This launch time is not yet confirmed. Rocket launches often slip by hours or days for weather, technical checks, or range scheduling — treat the time above as a target and re-check close to the date.
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Sky outlook at the pad
Daily cloud cover and rain chance at Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China — liftoff is still beyond the 7-day forecast window:
- Today
- Wed
- Thu
- Fri
- Sat
- Sun
- Mon
Forecast at the launch site; check your own sky too — cloud over you can hide a launch the pad forecast says is clear.
Pro members get the 7-day outlook for their own saved locations + a weather go/no-go call. Pro — $19.99/yr
🪼 Space-jellyfish watch: High chance
This is a dawn twilight launch — the setup for the glowing “space jellyfish” plume that makes the news. Watch T+3–5 min after liftoff, when the exhaust climbs out of Earth’s shadow into sunlight.
Prime jellyfish conditions: liftoff in pre-dawn twilight with the Sun 8.1° below the horizon. Observers are in darkness while the exhaust plume climbs into direct sunlight around T+3–5 min, where it can fan out into a glowing “space jellyfish.” No guarantee — plume brightness varies with the rocket and weather — but the geometry is as good as it gets. (Launch date not yet confirmed — this assessment will shift if the time changes.)
New to the phenomenon? What a space jellyfish is — and how we predict it →
Pro members get jellyfish alerts before twilight launches → Pro — $19.99/yr
Which cities can see this launch?
Estimated visibility from major towns near US launch sites, assuming clear skies and an open horizon. The 10 most likely first:
| City | Visibility | Look toward | Distance to pad |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Jose, CA | Not visible | — | 6406 mi |
| Fresno, CA | Not visible | — | 6500 mi |
| San Luis Obispo, CA | Not visible | — | 6563 mi |
| Pismo Beach, CA | Not visible | — | 6572 mi |
| Guadalupe, CA | Not visible | — | 6585 mi |
| Santa Maria, CA | Not visible | — | 6590 mi |
| Orcutt, CA | Not visible | — | 6595 mi |
| Vandenberg Village, CA | Not visible | — | 6603 mi |
| Bakersfield, CA | Not visible | — | 6603 mi |
| Los Alamos, CA | Not visible | — | 6607 mi |
Show all 94 cities
| City | Visibility | Look toward | Distance to pad |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lompoc, CA | Not visible | — | 6607 mi |
| Buellton, CA | Not visible | — | 6617 mi |
| Solvang, CA | Not visible | — | 6619 mi |
| Santa Barbara, CA | Not visible | — | 6642 mi |
| Mojave, CA | Not visible | — | 6645 mi |
| Ventura, CA | Not visible | — | 6662 mi |
| Oxnard, CA | Not visible | — | 6670 mi |
| Thousand Oaks, CA | Not visible | — | 6681 mi |
| Malibu, CA | Not visible | — | 6693 mi |
| Pasadena, CA | Not visible | — | 6701 mi |
| Los Angeles, CA | Not visible | — | 6704 mi |
| Long Beach, CA | Not visible | — | 6723 mi |
| San Diego, CA | Not visible | — | 6815 mi |
| Philadelphia, PA | Not visible | — | 6839 mi |
| Ocean City, NJ | Not visible | — | 6884 mi |
| Baltimore, MD | Not visible | — | 6889 mi |
| Dover, DE | Not visible | — | 6895 mi |
| Cape May, NJ | Not visible | — | 6908 mi |
| Annapolis, MD | Not visible | — | 6910 mi |
| Washington, DC | Not visible | — | 6916 mi |
| Rehoboth Beach, DE | Not visible | — | 6924 mi |
| Ocean City, MD | Not visible | — | 6950 mi |
| Salisbury, MD | Not visible | — | 6950 mi |
| Berlin, MD | Not visible | — | 6952 mi |
| Pocomoke City, MD | Not visible | — | 6970 mi |
| Chincoteague, VA | Not visible | — | 6979 mi |
| Wallops Island, VA | Not visible | — | 6984 mi |
| Onancock, VA | Not visible | — | 6996 mi |
| Exmore, VA | Not visible | — | 7008 mi |
| Richmond, VA | Not visible | — | 7011 mi |
| Cape Charles, VA | Not visible | — | 7027 mi |
| Newport News, VA | Not visible | — | 7040 mi |
| Virginia Beach, VA | Not visible | — | 7056 mi |
| Norfolk, VA | Not visible | — | 7057 mi |
| Myrtle Beach, SC | Not visible | — | 7279 mi |
| Charleston, SC | Not visible | — | 7342 mi |
| Hilton Head Island, SC | Not visible | — | 7380 mi |
| Savannah, GA | Not visible | — | 7390 mi |
| Brunswick, GA | Not visible | — | 7453 mi |
| Valdosta, GA | Not visible | — | 7472 mi |
| Pensacola Beach, FL | Not visible | — | 7489 mi |
| Gulf Shores, AL | Not visible | — | 7490 mi |
| Tallahassee, FL | Not visible | — | 7495 mi |
| Jacksonville, FL | Not visible | — | 7510 mi |
| Laredo, TX | Not visible | — | 7539 mi |
| St. Augustine, FL | Not visible | — | 7540 mi |
| Grand Isle, LA | Not visible | — | 7542 mi |
| Rockport, TX | Not visible | — | 7543 mi |
| Corpus Christi, TX | Not visible | — | 7553 mi |
| Gainesville, FL | Not visible | — | 7555 mi |
| Port Aransas, TX | Not visible | — | 7556 mi |
| Palm Coast, FL | Not visible | — | 7562 mi |
| Daytona Beach, FL | Not visible | — | 7588 mi |
| New Smyrna Beach, FL | Not visible | — | 7601 mi |
| Sanford, FL | Not visible | — | 7616 mi |
| Mims, FL | Not visible | — | 7626 mi |
| Titusville, FL | Not visible | — | 7630 mi |
| Orlando, FL | Not visible | — | 7634 mi |
| Port Canaveral, FL | Not visible | — | 7644 mi |
| Merritt Island, FL | Not visible | — | 7647 mi |
| McAllen, TX | Not visible | — | 7647 mi |
| Rockledge, FL | Not visible | — | 7648 mi |
| Cocoa Beach, FL | Not visible | — | 7650 mi |
| Kissimmee, FL | Not visible | — | 7651 mi |
| Harlingen, TX | Not visible | — | 7656 mi |
| Satellite Beach, FL | Not visible | — | 7660 mi |
| Bayview, TX | Not visible | — | 7665 mi |
| Indialantic, FL | Not visible | — | 7666 mi |
| Melbourne, FL | Not visible | — | 7666 mi |
| Lakeland, FL | Not visible | — | 7667 mi |
| Los Fresnos, TX | Not visible | — | 7668 mi |
| Laguna Vista, TX | Not visible | — | 7668 mi |
| Palm Bay, FL | Not visible | — | 7670 mi |
| South Padre Island, TX | Not visible | — | 7670 mi |
| Port Isabel, TX | Not visible | — | 7672 mi |
| Tampa, FL | Not visible | — | 7673 mi |
| Brownsville, TX | Not visible | — | 7679 mi |
| Sebastian, FL | Not visible | — | 7685 mi |
| Vero Beach, FL | Not visible | — | 7697 mi |
| Fort Pierce, FL | Not visible | — | 7710 mi |
| Port St. Lucie, FL | Not visible | — | 7723 mi |
| West Palm Beach, FL | Not visible | — | 7761 mi |
| Fort Lauderdale, FL | Not visible | — | 7802 mi |
| Miami, FL | Not visible | — | 7827 mi |
Where to look
A rocket lifts off below the horizon for distant viewers, then climbs into view as it gains altitude and flies downrange. Closer to the pad you'll see it within seconds; a few hundred miles away it can take three to six minutes to rise over the horizon. Find an open view in the direction shown for your city and start watching at liftoff.
More from China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation ↗
Before you go
- Launch times change — scrubs and delays are common. Re-check the day of.
- Clear skies matter. Low cloud near the pad or along the trajectory can hide the rocket.
- Twilight launches are the most dramatic; daytime launches are the hardest to see at distance.
- Trajectory and timing here are estimates from a representative ascent profile.
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Explore more
Launch data from TheSpaceDevs Launch Library 2. Page generated July 13, 2026.